Hobbes' Perspective on Nature and Sovereignty

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People often think nature supports our value judgments or claims about the goodness of human life. People argue that God has intended for all things to be good, nature will lead us towards the ultimate good. Hobbes will argue differently about nature because nature causes scarcity among resources along with competition, distrust and glory which causes violence and conflict. Hobbes does agree with the fact that the state of nature does make us all equal. Hobbes is not talking about equality in the sense that God made all people equal but in the sense that we all have the ability to kill one another. Also nature causes all men and women to have self-preservation. .According to Hobbes, despite nature not supporting justice and the greatest good does not mean people can never live under a sovereign entity that implements laws and punishments. The sovereign implements laws through fear. When there is no sovereign, people will always live in a state of war. Since nature does not provide a foundation for us to live by, the sovereign has to create it through fear of a punishment of a violent death. Since there is no greatest …show more content…

In chapter XIII Hobbes states "To this war of every man against every man, this also is consequent; that nothing can be unjust. The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice have there no place. Where there is no common power, there is no law: where no law, no injustice." In the state of nature where self-preservation is inevitable, justice and injustice have no place. Since Hobbes asserts that there is no justice, the sovereign again must govern through fear. Hobbes states “The passions that incline men to peace are fear of death, desire of such things are necessary to commodious living and by a hope by their industry to obtain them” When there is no justice or injustice, the sovereign must implement laws through fear to maintain the

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